All Good Things...
' |image= |series= |production= 40277-747 |producer(s)= |story= |script= Ronald D. Moore Brannon Braga |director= Winrich Kolbe |imdbref=tt0111281 |guests=John de Lancie as Q''', Andreas Katsulas as '''Commander Tomalak, Clyde Kusatsu as Admiral Nakamura, Denise Crosby as Lt. Yar, Colm Meaney as Chief O'Brien, Pamela Kosh as Jessel, Tim Kelleher as Lt. Gaines, Alison Brooks as Ensign Chilton and Stephen Matthew Garvey as Ensign |previous_production=Preemptive Strike |next_production= |episode=TNG S07E25 TNG S07E26 |airdate= 23 May 1994 |previous_release=Preemptive Strike |next_release= |story_date(s)=Stardate 47988.0 (ca. 3.5 billion years ago/2363/2364/2370/2371/ca. 2395) |previous_story=The Collaborator |next_story=Tribunal }} Summary Part 1 A panicked Picard bursts off the Turbolift in his bathrobe, declaring that he is inexplicably moving back and forth through time. Shaken, he begins to describe the experience to Troi, but is then transported 25 years into the future, working in the vineyard at his home in France. He is visited by Geordi, who has come because Picard is ill with Irumodic Syndrome, an affliction which causes mental deterioration. Picard is then transported to the past, where he is on a shuttlecraft with Tasha Yar, traveling to the U.S.S. Enterprise for the first time. Moments later, he is back in the present, at which point Troi places an urgent call to Sickbay. Neither Beverly's tests nor Worf's security scans show any indication that Picard physically left the ship. The investigation is then put on hold by news that several Romulan Warbirds are headed for the Neutral Zone, toward a spatial anomaly in the Devron system. Picard is transported back to the future, where he remembers bits and pieces of what just transpired, then tries to explain this to Geordi, who is unconvinced, blaming it on Picard's disease. Geordi is worried enough to take Picard to Cambridge, where Data is a professor. Data decides to explore the possibilities, but Picard is transported back to the past, arriving at the point of his initial arrival on the Enterprise. Among the crew, he sees a group of scraggly humans laughing at him, a sight he has already encountered twice in the future. This is enough for him to suddenly declare a Red Alert. Since he has foreknowledge of future events, Picard decides not to tell this crew what is happening. He senses a connection when he is told that several vessels are moving toward an anomaly in the Devron system. Starfleet cancels the ship's mission to Farpoint Station, but Picard insists they go there anyway and refuses to explain his decision to the confused crew. Soon afterward, he finds himself back in the present in Beverly's office. She scans Picard, and learns that he has accumulated over two days worth of memories in just a few minutes — real confirmation to what Picard has been saying. Still in the present, Picard and the crew ponder the significance of the anomaly, which occurred in both the present and the past. Exhausted, Picard lies down in his Ready Room, then finds himself in the future. He insists in going to the Neutral Zone to find the anomaly, causing Geordi to worry about Picard's sanity. Still, he, Data, and Picard ask Riker, who is now an admiral, for help. However, since the Klingons, who have taken over the Romulan Empire, closed their borders to Federation starships, and now control the area, Riker is unwilling to let them proceed. Data proposes they instead travel on a medical ship, and they wind up on a vessel commanded by Beverly, now Picard's ex-wife. Geordi suggests that Worf, who is a governor in the Klingon Empire, might help them enter the territory. Picard then returns to the past, still on course for Farpoint. Suddenly, he finds himself face-to-face with Q, in the courtroom where they first met seven years ago. Q offers to answer ten "yes" or "no" questions. Picard learns that his time shifting is connected to the "trail" Q put him through seven years earlier, that the spatial anomaly in the Neutral Zone is involved, and that a verdict has been rendered humanity will be destroyed. However, while Q is causing Picard to shift through time, it is Picard, not Q, who is responsible for the imminent destruction. Picard then wakes up in his Ready Room, in the present, and declares a Red Alert... Part 2 After his encounter with Q, Picard assembles the senior staff, and wonders if Q is actually giving him a chance to save humanity by showing him that the spatial anomaly also exists in the past. As they talk, the ship reaches the Neutral Zone, then Picard returns to the future, where Beverly's ship is also on the edge of the Neutral Zone. He convinces a reluctant Worf to accompany the group into Klingon territory, and then travels to the past, where he orders the crew into the Devron system. Finally, he returns to the present, where he is able to get Tomalak, the Romulan Commander on the other side of the border, to agree to entering the Neutral Zone together. Now heading for the anomaly in all three time periods, Picard learns that it exists in the present, and is larger in the past, but does not exist in the future. Picard cannot understand why the anomaly is missing, and Beverly gives Data six hours to scan for the anomaly using an inverse tachyon pulse, then reminds Picard that this all might be a delusion. She leaves and Q reappears, again saying that it is Picard who destroys humanity. Picard then returns to the present, and suggests using the tachyon pulse to penetrate the anomaly. When Data begins sending the pulse, Geordi's eyes mysteriously start to rejuvenate. Data theorizes that this is because the anomaly is an eruption of "anti-time" — which has collided with normal time to create a rupture in space that is causing people to revert to an earlier stage of development. Picard then returns to the past, and suggests again that Data use a tachyon pulse to scan the anomaly. After this, he returns to the future, where Beverly's ship is attacked by Klingon forces. The U.S.S. Enterprise, with Riker in command, appears and saves the medical ship, then brings the crew aboard just before the vessel explodes. Picard frantically insists that Riker continue the search. He then returns to the present, where Beverly tells him that the anomaly is affecting the entire crew. Picard orders Data to find a way to collapse the anomaly, at which point Q appears again. He takes Picard back to primordial Earth, where the anomaly fills the entire sky and a pond of amino acids is about to form the first protein. However, when these first building blocks of life fail to coalesce, Picard then realizes that his own actions somehow caused the anomaly, which then prevented the beginning of life on Earth. In the past, Troi informs Picard that the anomaly is beginning to affect people there. Picard meets with Data and O'Brien, but they are unable to scan the anomaly enough to completely understand it. Returning to the present, Picard has Data change his scanning methods, which allows them to discover that their tachyon pulse is converging with two identical pulses at the center of the anomaly. Picard realizes that these scans must be from the other two Enterprises. He then finds himself back in the future, where he tries to convince his former crew that he is right. Luckily, Data sees the logic in what Picard is saying, and helps him explain that the anomaly could have formed in the future, where they are, then grow larger as it moved backward through time. Theorizing that the convergence of the three pulses ruptured the subspace barrier and caused the anti-time reaction, the group decides to return to the Devron system to see if the anomaly has begun to form. Back in the Devron system, the crew detects a very small version of the anomaly. Data suggests shutting down the tachyon pulses, then Picard returns to the present and orders their pulse disengaged. The anomaly, however, remains unchanged. Picard then returns to the past, where he again has the pulse shut off. Again, the anomaly is unaffected. Back in the future, Data decides that their only option is to repair the rupture by taking the ship inside the anomaly, using the engines to create a static warp shell which would separate time from anti-time. This must, however, be done in all three time periods in order for the anomaly to collapse — which could quite possibly destroy all three ships. Picard returns to the past and gives the order, then repeats it in the present. Finally, the future Enterprise heads into the anomaly. All three ships reach the center and initiate the warp shells, and the anomaly begins to collapse. As it does, the past and present Enterprises are destroyed, then Q appears with Picard just as the future Enterprise is about to explode. Suddenly, Picard finds himself in the courtroom, facing Q again, who tells Picard he has succeeded in saving humanity. Picard is returned to the moment his adventure began, coming from the Turbolift in his bathrobe. He shares his experience with the crew, using what he has learned about the future to forge a new, closer relationship with his dearest friends. Errors and Explanations Internet Movie Database Anachronisms/Continuity # a) When we see the crew from the past enter the Conference Room, you can see horizontal lights below the windows, even though these had only been introduced to the set in season 5. b) The captain's chair on the Enterprise from the "past" time. The bridge of the Enterprise that is on its way to Farpoint station has the captains chair with fixed arm rests. The chair from season 1 had flip up computer pads. Also the chairs next to the first officers chair and counselors chairs were different in the first season set. c) Tasha has a slightly different hairstyle to the one she had in Star Trek: The Next Generation: Encounter at Farpoint. d) O'Brien in the past wears the rank insignia of Ensign but is called "Chief" a Chief is an NCO, not an officer. All of these could have been changes made by Q, to see if Picard noticed them (See Nit Central section for another example) Factual errors # When Tasha Yar is first approaching the Enterprise she approaches from the front under the saucer section. It would be much more simple and safer to fly over the saucer section then simply turn around into the shuttle bay. For safety's sake the approaches to the ship would be strictly controlled from a central station on the ship or the repair pod. Each shuttle leaving or arriving would be given clearance and vectors to fly which would avoid collisions. They would be the safest routes to and from the ship. The route Yar is flying would never be authorized. She may have been given a special dispensation, to allow Picard to admire the Enterprise before boarding. Incorrectly regarded as goofs # The temporal anomaly was read as being an intersection of tachyon beams from the 3 different time line Enterprises. In the future time line, it was the USS Pasteur that initiated the tachyon beam, not the Enterprise. This is often considered a plot hole, but technically, Data is the one who found the discovery in the present time. His exact words were "The two other pulses have the exact same amplitude modulation as our own pulse. It is as if all three originated from the Enterprise." It is logical to presume Data, having been the one in all three time periods to help make the pulse, made the beams the same and in this present time made the assumption all three were from the Enterprise. # Deanna remembers having a reception in Ten Forward for Captain Picard's arrival seven years ago. Although Ten Forward was not introduced until the second season, it stands to reason that, being a major part of the ship, it must have already existed from the beginning. # Although the events of the past time-line are not congruent with those from Star Trek: The Next Generation: Encounter at Farpoint, one can assume that at least the outset (i.e. Picard's shuttle transport to the Enterprise] did actually happen. His remark to Tasha Yar that she "looked very familiar" suggests that they met officially for the first time on that occasion. This, however, is in clear contradiction to the story Picard told in Star Trek: The Next Generation: Legacy about his first encounter with Yar. However, Jean-Luc Picard has gone back in time at this point. His memory of Tasha Yar extends from his first trip on the Enterprise. He recognizes her, but he doesn't know from where, because his mind doesn't remember the future that already happened. After he comes back from the past, he tells Counselor Troi, "Tasha. I was just with Tasha in the shuttle." His present memory of her was effecting his past memory of possibly knowing her. Nit Central # mf on Tuesday, July 06, 1999 - 10:30 am: Here's a nit - how come Worf doesn't have the same bumps he had in Encounter at Farpoint, but rather, the later forehead? BrianB on Tuesday, July 06, 1999 - 10:43 am: TPTB did consider this going into production. They opted just to do the one forehead. Seniram This could have been done by Q, to see if Picard noticed. # SB on Friday, July 30, 1999 - 10:45 am: Data's rank pips in the past clearly show him at a rank of Lieutenant (Junior Grade). Aside from wondering how he got promoted to Lieutenant Commander so fast, why does Picard call him "Commander" while leaving Tasha in charge on the bridge? Perhaps one of his rank pips was missing! # Anonymous on Sunday, January 23, 2000 - 3:49 pm: The Pasteur looks like a redesigned Daedalaus-class starship (Power Play (TNG)). Did Starfleet change its mind about these vessels, or at least the design? It’s probably an updated version, with a sperical rather than saucer shaped primary hull to provide increased interior space. # Where's Guinan? Wouldn't she be able to confirm Picard's claims about time-shifting? Shouldn't Picard have been talking to Guinan about this, instead of Troi? Maybe she was on holiday? ''' # Admiral Riker must have a lot more political clout in Starfleet than Admiral Kirk. Starfleet tried to get the Enterprise-D decommissioned, but Riker said that as an admiral "you get to choose your own ship." Really? This is quite an interesting change from Admiral Kirk having to convince Admiral Nogura to let him command the Enterprise (Star Trek: TMP) and Kirk having to steal the Enterprise (Star Trek III) to retrieve Spock's body. After all that, he wouldn't get a starship Enterprise of his own to command until after he got demoted back to captain (Star Trek IV)! If he had Riker's clout, Kirk could have kept the rank of Admiral, and picked the Enterprise-B for his own command! (After all Kirk did for Starfleet, they could have done better than give him forced retirement.) '''Or perhaps Starfleet learnt their lesson after the way Kirk was treated! # It's interesting to see that Riker at some point got to be captain and later admiral in the anti-time future, when as of the most recent movie (Insurrection) he still is only a commander. This along with Kirk's advice to Picard in "Generations" not to retire would seem to lead to a situation where Riker, after waiting more than half his life to be captain of the Enterprise, only gets the center seat for good after Picard's command abilities are done in by Irumodic Syndrome. Then Riker would finally be promoted to captain by the age of 60..Assuming he doesn’t command other ships in the interim. # Chris Thomas on Saturday, April 29, 2000 - 10:46 am: How does Picard breathe when Q takes him back to the start of life on Earth - there was no breathable atmosphere then. guess: Q uses his omnipotent powers to allow Picard to survive Where does it say there was no breathable atmosphere at the time life started on Earth? # When Picard and Geordi visit Data at Cambridge it sounds like Data says "it's possible" at one point, which means he used a contraction. in the future maybe he's now able to use contractions? Callie Sullivan on Tuesday, May 02, 2000 - 6:30 am: Chris - Data uses several contractions during that first conversation, so clearly he has now got the hang of it! Seniram As I have stated elsewhere, Data may be able to use contractions due to a fault in the operating program for his voice control unit. # Rene on Friday, January 26, 2001 - 8:10 pm: The main problem is that the thing that the plot falls apart when analyzed. "What happens in one time period doesn't affect the other two." And yet...the anamoly was caused by three beams from the three times periods acting together. Ryan on Monday, July 16, 2001 - 8:53 pm: In response to Rene's post from 1/26/01 I always thought that the whole setting of this episode ended up being in a some kind of "Q-holodeck" as opposed to the real reality our heroes have known. It would make sense since the Q are trying to test Picard and would explain why & how Picard ends up sitting in the post-atomic courtroom after the final Enterprise goes boom. Plus, as you all say, in our reality this test is just unpracticable. The three timelines cannot interact with each other, otherwise all Picard has to do once he realizes the paradox is head into the past and send a message forward to the future, telling himself to sit in a room and keep quiet. That would resolve the situation, but wouldn't get the Q anywhere. Yet, obviously the 3 timelines must interact to form the anomoly. Hence, in reality it's very difficult (even for omnipotent beings), but in some kind of elborate, Q holodeck it could work very easily. That would also account for why nobody recalls the event. '''"It was as if all three originated from the Enterprise." The future Enterprise never sent a beam. '''True. But the Pastuer used the same tech as the future Enterprise. "We think it started in the past, but it started right here in the future." Then why didn't they see it when they first arrived in the system.Either it needed time to become visable, or Q manipulated the area to keep it hidden when the Pastuer first arrived. # Ryan on Monday, July 16, 2001 - 8:53 pm:''A problem I haven't heard much about with this episode is the existance of the anomoly in the 1st two time periods. The anomolies pop up in the 1st two time periods before the word "tachyon" is even mentioned in this episode. The anomoly shouldn't be created until all three time zones fire a tachyon pulse into the Devron system, yet it's in the 1st two time periods before any pulses are sent off into the Devron system. Guess we can chalk another one up to the omnipotent Q, playing tricks on us poor nit-pickers. '''Either that or this is a visual paradox' # Trike on Sunday, October 07, 2001 - 12:19 am: A pair of continuity errors on the past Enterprise is that the stations at the back of the bridge follow designations they weren't given until the second season: Science I, Science II, Engineering, etc. And those stations had monotone green displays the first couple seasons, but were depicted with their later, more colorful displays. This could have been another change carried out by Q. # Picard once said that he recruited Tasha to serve on the Enterprise after he had taken command of the ship. I remember this being brought up in the first Chronology as being hard to explain away, because "Encounter at Farpoint" was clearly meant to be the Enterprise's first mission. But in this episode, Tasha is already security chief and escorts Picard to the Enterprise his first time on board. There was plenty of time between taking command and Farpoint for a shakedown cruise! # LUIGI NOVI on Wednesday, June 12, 2002 - 12:29 am: The creators have messed up a bit with the Trek timeline. In Legacy, Picard told Ishara that both Tasha’s ship and his responded to a distress call from Carnel. We have to assume this was the Enterprise, because the Stargazer was abandoned in 2355, and since Tasha was born in 2337 (The Naked Now established that she was 15 at the time she escaped the Turkana IV colony, and the episode Legacy was set fifteen years after her escape), she would have been only 18 when the Stargazer was abandoned. But if the ship he referred to was the Enterprise, how could he have requested her assignment to the Enterprise, if she was already onboard when he first took command of it, as seen in this episode? Was the ship he was referring to an intermediary ship he commanded between the Stargazer and the Enterprise that we’ve never seen or heard of before, one whose command assignment by Picard just ended around the time he met Tasha? The ship Picard was on during the Carmel rescue may not have been necessarily under his command – he could have just as easily been on board as a mission observer, in order to log some extra space assignment time before taking command of Enterprise. Category:Episodes Category:The Next Generation